Disclaimer: Don't own anything, besides the plot. And that still may be a figment of my imagination. Or a figment of chocolate. Whichever comes first.
Josh wasn't pleased. They had traveled through the countryside on a cart pulled by a grey, elderly donkey with arthritis. Apparently cars couldn't come through here because the roads (if you could call them that. They seemed to be tracks of dirt worn down by countless people traveling the same directions) weren't wide enough, and there were no gas stations for miles around. Plus, all the rocks might cause damage to the tires. Said rocks were currently the source of Josh's misery. Every bump and rut, every rock and pebble, were all amplified by the rickety wooden cart they were traveling in. He was sure that he'd have black and blue bruises by the time they got to Risemburg. One example of the sensitivity of their vehicle had been when they had hit one particular bump in the road, and all the luggage piled up next to him had fallen on him with a resounding crash. The two immortals had been sitting in the front, guiding the donkey, and had barely looked at the ensuing cursing and shouting. Sophie, sitting on the other side, had just been plain lucky to escape the falling tower of suitcases. Josh groaned. He ached all over. To make matters worse, they'd be traveling like this the rest of the whole day, until they reached their destination. Apparently Risemburg was an extremely isolated village, with only one road and had more sheep than people living there. There wouldn't be much to do. They weren't even there yet, and he already wondered if he'd die of boredom. He sighed, and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Just great," he muttered. Nothing else to do, he eventually nodded off to sleep.
Sophie was tired. The cart was quite uncomfortable, though she kept that thought to herself. She was just grateful that they didn't have to walk all the way to Risemburg. Besides, there were worse ways to travel. She herself recalled a time in a Jeep while accompanying her parents on archeological digs that bounced at every pebble in the road. And if the Witch's memories were correct, traveling by camel was even worse. She looked fondly at Josh, who was currently curled up, fast asleep. Even though she was the older twin, he always insisted on acting like she was his baby-sister. He just couldn't seem to accept the fact that she was perfectly fine and could take care of herself. He had been tired and grumpy all day, so maybe he'd be in a better mood when he woke up. Sophie's mouth twitched at the recollection of the pile of luggage falling on him at the start of the journey. No matter what he had said, it was funny to see him flail around and splutter after all that baggage had fallen on him. Things had felt normal, like the old times, when Josh would get into some mischief or other trouble, and she could have a quiet chuckle at his expense, where they could joke about it afterwards, and smile at the memory. She shook her head. A few days was all it had taken to change all of that. A few days ago, if anyone told her she be in Germany, on the run from immortals and monsters, not to mention all over the world, she would have laughed it off and called them crazy. A few days ago, she had been working quite normally at the coffee shop she loved. Within a few days, her life had been turned upside down, and everything she knew had too. She had met vampires and goddesses, had stayed with living legends, and had fought things you'd expect to see in a movie or book- or nightmares, things that men would whisper of over a fire, in hushed tones, things unmentioned in the dark. And the people she had met… Sophie turned her head towards Nicholas and Perenelle. They too, looked tired and worn, but she wasn't sure whether it was from all that traveling, or the toll of the past few days and using their auric energy. She felt somewhat guilty. If only she and Josh had been able to take care of themselves better, then the Flamels wouldn't have had to drain their auras, and depleting life force, to protect them. She could see the cost of the magic in every stooped shoulder, every new wrinkle, every grey hair, and in those tired eyes. Without the Codex, they could not brew the Elixir of Immortality that they so needed to retain their youth and lives. They might… die. Sophie's stomach twisted at the thought. They couldn't die! Not after helping them so much! Even Josh, though he'd never admit it, cared about the well-being of the two (right?). They needed the Codex. She shook her head. It was no good dwelling on these morbid thoughts. Looking at the scenery that was slowly rolling by, she thought about their destination. Currently, all she saw were green hills and forests, occasionally seeing buildings and people. It was so peaceful and quiet, a huge contrast to the other places she and Josh had lived in. According to Nicholas, the town they'd be staying at was even more isolated. Josh had made a remark about staying in "sheep country- where the sheep have their way." She shook her head. Sometimes he just didn't make any sense. The cart rumbled on, on the lonely dirt track, and eventually the sound of rolling wheels lulled Sophie to sleep.
"We're here," announced Nicholas quietly. The twins stirred in the back. Meanwhile, Perenelle had already dismounted and was scratching the donkey's head while unharnessing him from the cart. Groggily, Sophie sat up, blinking in the dim light. "We'll be staying at an inn for tonight. We can look around and do some more exploring tomorrow," he explained to the still sleepy teen. As he talked, Josh pushed himself up and sat there, blinking owlishly like his sister previously had, then gave a huge yawn.
"Whaazit? Where are we?" he mumbled. Sophie, who was more awake and clear-headed at this point, poked him in the arm. "Silly, we're at Risemburg. Wake up, sleepy-head!" Josh looked around, finally comprehending that they had arrived at their location. "Nngh… where's Perry?"
"Checking us in. You do remember our cover story, don't you?" The twins paused as they thought back. Sophie gave a nod of recognition, while Josh grunted an affirmative. As they unloaded the luggage (Josh giving a suitcase or two a spiteful kick), Flamel talked a bit about their time studying physics, first in Germany, then in America. Sophie seemed to be genuinely listening, while Josh let it become background noise. Carrying one particularly heavy suitcase (he was sure it was Sophie's; only a girl would pack that much. What did she pack in there anyway? Bricks? Rocks?) he tripped and stumbled, dropping the case and his foot. Josh cursed profusely, made some rather obscene hand gestures. Suddenly, someone behind him commented, "You've got rather a potty mouth there, kid. Need some help?" Josh stopped swearing and turned around. Facing him was a young man, in his early twenties. Golden blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail. Most striking though, was his eyes. In the dim streetlight, they were a deep amber, almost golden color. Like a wolf or owl, Josh thought. The man chuckled. "Hasn't your mother ever taught you that staring at people is a terribly rude thing to do?" Embarrassed to be caught doing just that, Josh looked away, then suddenly looked back, a frown etched on his face.
"How come you're speaking English? And how did you know we spoke English anyways?"
"Easy there, kid. I heard you guys speaking English when you arrived, so that's how. It's a small village. News like travelers tends to spread like wildfire. As you can guess, there's not much to talk about, besides the weather and sheep, so gossip tends to go around fast. As for why I can speak English, I used to live in America. Judging by your accents, that's where you come from too, no? Now, to answer my question- Do you need help with that suitcase or not?" Josh nodded, mute and overwhelmed. The guy was friendly, but Josh didn't like how he easily could tell where Josh was from. The guy grinned, not noticing the thoughts tumbling though Josh's head, hefting up the suitcase with one hand as if it was nothing. "Hallo, Hallin! Neue Mieter, ich sehe," he called out to the inn-keeper as he walked through the door. (Hello, Hallin! New lodgers, I see.") The inn-keeper (Hallin) gave a lazy wave and replied in German. They chatted a bit, while a young boy came out, yelping with delight when he saw the blond. "Hey, Kyle! Helping ihr vater, nicht wahr?" (Hey, Kyle! Helping your dad, aren't we?). After what felt like an eternity of German small talk, the blond excused himself, and turned back to Josh. "Sorry about that," he said. "I haven't been in town for awhile. So, which is your room? I'll help you drop this off." Josh just pointed out the room as they walked past, and the man dropped of the suitcase as promised. "Well then," he said, sticking his hand out, "I'll probably be seeing you around town then. Pleasure meeting you,-" "Josh," Josh answered, shaking his hand, "Likewise." The man walked away into the night, where the darkness swallowed him up, and only after he was long out of sight did Josh realize he never found out the other man's name.
Author's Note: I honestly didn't mean to write out that whole "Where's Perry?" line. I was just trying to make a sleepy/suspicious/paranoid Josh, and if I was still tired I wouldn't bother saying "Perenelle". It was only afterwards did I notice it... As for Hallin and Kyle, they're the alt-universe versions of Halling and Khayal, the inn-keepers at Youswell. Yeah, I know they didn't live in Risembool, but this is a different dimension.
Another Author's Note: So, at school we're learning about the Renaissance. Well, lo and behold, today we learned about Machiavelli and Dee! Then we had to take these stupid personality tests... apparently I'm 92% like Mach. XD